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taking their stand, the eternal fire, and the outer darkness, and the sleepless worm, and the gnashing of teeth, and the unceasing tear, and the endless shame, by which every 0417 condemned person will be more pained by the unending torment from eternity, than by all the other 15Β_088 kinds of punishment together. He who has godly sorrow is by no means forgetful of these truly fearsome things and names; but will be disposed as one always seeing the Judge and being seen; and may he live the present life piously and justly, doing or saying or thinking nothing foreign to the divine grace and calling.

The offspring of this praiseworthy sorrow is that exceptional good among men, humility; through which the pious and God-loving man will in truth consider himself least of all; even if he is a king in rank, making his own natural weakness the measure of his self-knowledge; under which all who have partaken of the same nature are equally placed; in no way distorting his reasoning from the law of nature because of his rank. Of this, meekness has become the offspring, being a disposition that repels the unnatural movements of both anger and desire; through which man receives a likeness to the angels, with whom there is no raging anger, and its kin barking indecently; nor indeed desire that dissolves the intellectual tensions and drags down the impulse toward matter; but only reason, having dominion over the whole, and ardently leading the mind toward the Logos who is beyond cause and nature. Its fruit is love, through which, being united to God and to one another, we willingly care for one another as much as is possible, as much as God, as the merciful one, cares for all. Its end is the kingdom of heaven, and the enjoyment of the divine goods there. For to this end does godly sorrow lead those who cherish and keep it.

And the characteristics of this sorrow are, to accustom the eyes to see creation only for the glory of the Creator; and to regard the affairs of one's neighbors without envy and malice; the ears to be ready for the reception of God's words alone, and to be open to the supplication of those who entreat us; but to be diligently stopped up against all slander, 15Β_090 and the hideousness of shameful words; the tongue to be sanctified by praises of others, in no way being defiled by insults and slanders against others. And simply, to speak concisely, let us conform all the members of both body and soul to what seems good to the Spirit; and so our whole purpose of piety may be achieved.

These things, O blessed one, let us examine in ourselves with all exactness, if we find that we possess them, let us diligently preserve them; but if we possess none of these, let us labor with zeal to acquire them, humbling ourselves as men to all men for God's sake and our common nature; remaining meek and gentle toward the things that happen against our will; 0430 generous toward the poor, and hospitable toward strangers; ready to help, according to our ability, those in need of protection; of one soul and one mind with our friends; affable in all things to our acquaintances; approachable to the more humble; sympathetic and philanthropic to the weak; long-suffering with those who provoke us; forgiving to those who stumble; becoming a comfort to those who grieve. And, simply put, let us become all things to all men, both because of the fear of God and the expected threat of future judgments. For without these things that have been enumerated, there is no hope of salvation for anyone at all.

These things, and more than these, my longing for you compels me to say. For I do not know how to measure this, which causes me to picture you always, and as if you were present

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λαβόντες στάσιν, τό πῦρ τό αἰώνιον, καί τό ἐξώτερον σκότος, καί τόν ἀκοίμητον σκώληκα, τόν τε βρυγμόν τῶν ὀδόντων, καί τό ἄπαυστον δάκρυον, καί τήν ἀπέραντον αἰσχύνην, ἐφ᾿ ᾗ μᾶλλον ὀδυνηθήσεται πᾶς 0417 κατακριθείς τήν ἀπ᾿ αἰῶσιν ἀτελεύτητον βάσανον, ἤ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ τοῖς 15Β_088 ἄλλοις τῆς κολάσεως εἴδεσι. Τούτων οὐδαμῶς ὄντως τῶν φοβερῶν καί πραγμάτων καί ὀνομάτων, ὁ τήν κατά Θεόν λύπην ἔχων ἐπιλανθάνεται· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ὁρῶν ἀεί τόν Κριτήν καί ὁρώμενος, διατεθήσεται· καί τήν παροῦσαν εὐσεβῶς καί δικαίως διενέγκῃ ζωήν, μηδέ ποιῶν ἤ λέγων ἤ λογιζόμενος, τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τῆς θείας χάριτός τε καί κλήσεως.

Ταύτης τῆς ἐπαινουμένης λύπης γέννημα τυγχάνει, τό ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐξαίρετον ἀγαθόν, ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη· δι᾿ ἧς ὁ ευσεβής καί φιλόθεος, πάντων ἑαυτόν ἐλαχιστότερον κατ᾿ ἀλήθειαν ἡγήσεται· κἄν βασιλεύς ᾗ τήν ἀξίαν, ὅρον τῆς ἐπιγνωμοσύνης ἑαυτοῦ ποιούμενος τήν κατά φύσιν ἀσθένειαν· ὑφ᾿ ἧν πάντες κατά τό ἴσον τελοῦσιν, οἱ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως μετειληφότες· οὐδαμῶς τοῦ κατά φύσιν λόγου, διά τήν ἀξίαν παραφέρων τόν λογισμόν. Ταύτης προβολή καθέστηκεν ἡ πραότης, ἕξις ὑπάρχουσα τῶν παρά φύσιν, τοῦ τε θυμοῦ καί τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, κινημάτων ἀπωστική· δι᾿ ἧς τήν πρός ἀγγέλους ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁμοιότητα δέχεται, παρ᾿ οἷς οὐκ ἔστι θυμός λυσσῶν, καί τό συγγενές ἀπρεπῶς καθυλακτῶν· οὔτε μήν ἐπιθυμία τούς νοερούς διαλύουσα τόνους, καί πρός τήν ὕλην τήν ἔφεσιν ὑποσύρουσα· λόγος δέ μόνος, τήν ὅλης ἔχων δυναστείαν, καί διαπύρως κατά νοῦν ἄγων πρός τόν ὑπέρ αἰτίαν καί φύσιν Λόγον. Ταύτης ὑπάρχει καρπός ἡ ἀγάπη, καθ᾿ ἥν Θεῷ τε καί ἀλλήλοις ἑνούμενοι, τοσοῦτον ἀλλήλων ἑκόντες φροντίζομεν, ὡς ἐφικτόν, ὅσον ὁ Θεός ὡς οἰκτίρμων πάντων ἀντέχεται. Ταύτης ἐστί τέλος ἡ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία, καί τῶν ἐκεῖ θείων ἀγαθῶν ἡ ἀπόλαυσις. Πρός τοῦτο γάρ ἄγει τό πέρας ἡ κατά Θεόν λύπη τούς στέργοντας αὐτήν καί φυλάττοντας.

Ταύτης δέ τῆς λύπης ὑπάρχει γνωρίσματα, τό ἐθίσαι τούς ὀφθαλμούς τήν κτίσιν ὁρᾷν πρός δόξαν μόνην τοῦ Κτίσαντος· καί τά τῶν πλησίον ἄνευ, φθόνου καί βασκανίας ἐπισκοπεῖν· τά ὦτα πρός ὑποδοχήν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγων μόνην, καί τῆς τῶν ζεομένων ἡμῶν ἰκεσίας ἑτοίμως ἠνεῷχθαι· πρός δέ πᾶσαν λοιδορίαν, 15Β_090 καί λόγων αἰσχρῶν εἰδέχθειαν, σπουδαίως βεβύσθαι· τήν γλῶσσαν ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων εὐφημίαις καθαγιάζεσθαι, μηδαμῶς ταῖς κατ' ἄλλων ὕβρεσι καί λοιδορίαις μολυνομένην. Καί ἁπλῶς ἵνα συνελών εἴπω, πάντα τά μέλη τοῦ τε σώματος καί τῆς ψυχῆς, πρός τό δοκοῦν τῷ Πνεύματι μεταρυθμίσωμεν· καί ὅλος ἡμῖν ὁ κατ᾿ εὐσέβειαν σκοπός κατορθώθῃ .

Ταῦτα, εὐλογημένε, κατά πᾶσαν ἀκρίβειαν ἑαυτούς ἐρευνῶντες, εἰ μέν εὕρωμεν ἔχοντας, ἐπιμελῶς διατηρήσωμεν· εἰ δέ μηδέν τούτων κεκτημένους, κατά σπουδήν κτήσασθαι φιλοπονήσωμεν, πᾶσι διά τόν Θεόν καί τήν κοινήν φύσιν ἀνθρώποις, ὡς ἄνθρωποι ταπεινούμενοι· πρός τά συμβαίνοντα παρά τήν ἡμετέραν γνώμην, πρᾶοι καί ἥμεροι διαμένοντες· 0430 εὐμετάδοτοί τε πρός τούς πτωχούς, καί πρός τούς ξένους φιλόξενοι· τοῖς δεομένοις προστασίας, κατά τό δυνατόν, πρός ἀντίληψιν ἕτοιμοι· πρός τούς φίλους ὁμόψυχοι καί ὁμογνώμονες· πρός τούς γνωρίμους ἐν πᾶσι περιδέξιοι· τοῖς ταπεινοτέροις εὐπρόσιτοι· τοῖς ἀσθενέσι συμπαθεῖς καί φιλάνθρωποι· μακρόθυμοι τοῖς παροργίζουσι· τοῖς πταίουσι συγγνώμονες· τοῖς λυπουμένοις, παρηγορία γινόμενοι. Καί ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, πάντα πᾶσι γενώμεθα, διά τε τόν Θεοῦ φόβον, καί τήν προσδοκωμένην τῶν μελλόντων κριμάτων ἀπειλήν. Χωρίς γάρ τούτων τῶν ἀπηριθμημένων, οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδενί τό παράπαν σωτηρίας ἐλπίς.

Ταῦτά με, καί πλείονα τούτων βιάζεται λέγειν ὁ πρός σέ πόθος. Οὐ γάρ ἔχω πῶς μετρῆσαι τοῦτον, διά παντός ἀνατυποῦσθαί σε παρασκευάζοντα, καί ὡς παρόντι